All-RTC4 girls golf: After finishing 8th at state, Bailey is RTC Player of Year for 3rd time
- Val T.
- 36 minutes ago
- 2 min read
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The girls golf season in the RTC area could not be summed up in a sight so much as a sound.
The sound was the ball making an unusual thawack into the 17th hole on Olivia Bailey’s slam-dunk hole-in-one at Sandy Pines Golf Club in DeMotte during the regional.
It was a historic shot during a historic round of 67 in which Bailey earned regional medalist for the third straight year.
For that and many other reasons, Bailey is our All-RTC4 Girls Golfer of the Year for the third time. She also shared it with teammate Ava Thomas in 2023 and won it outright last year.
Bailey will next take her game to the Division I level at Valparaiso University.
Bailey also highlights our All-RTC4 team.
We thank coaches for sending us their scores and for taking the time to talk to us during the season.
Having said that, this list is ours and ours alone, and we take full responsibility for it. We place extra emphasis on 18-hole tournaments over the nine-hole midweek dual matches, and we also place extra emphasis on the conference and postseason tournaments.
Savana Miller Mia McKaig Molly Moore Lexi Haughs
First team
Olivia Bailey (Rochester) (Player of the Year) – Bailey describes herself as a conservative player, but she became a stronger player this year and appeared to aim for a few more greens this year instead of just laying up. She is makes all the five-foot putts that separates the great golfers from the pretty good ones.
Savana Miller (Tippecanoe Valley) – Miller showed great promise as a freshman and advanced on that promise as a sophomore by becoming the first player in Valley school history to make the IHSAA state finals. She also was the Indiana Northern State Conference and sectional medalists. Miller does not have great distance off the tee, but she makes up for it with great iron and bunker play.
Mia McKaig (Pioneer) – McKaig did not make the state finals again as she did in 2024, when she became the first player in Pioneer school history to make state, but she again won Hoosier North medalist and again qualified for regional. A late bloomer to golf, she used her strong work ethic to separate herself from others.
Molly Moore (Rochester) – Moore moved up from the No. 3 spot to the No. 2 spot in the lineup as a sophomore and helped Rochester win their third straight conference title and advance to the regional as a team.
Lexi Haughs (Rochester) – Haughs’ strength and experience place her above most golfers in our area. She was consistently able to break 100, even on many of the tougher area courses.
Honorable mention
Kendra Hanson (Pioneer)
Hunter Hines (Winamac)
Emma Juby (Pioneer)
Lily Chipps (Rochester)
Maris Overbey (Tippecanoe Valley)
Jenna Prater (Tippecanoe Valley)
All-RTC4 Girls Golfers of the Year
2020: Kristianna Lingenfelter (Rochester)
2021: Madelyn Weaver (Tippecanoe Valley)
2022: Madelyn Weaver (Tippecanoe Valley)
2023: Olivia Bailey-Ava Thomas (Rochester)
2024: Olivia Bailey (Rochester)
2025: Olivia Bailey (Rochester)
